The Dead Daisies

Artists: The Dead Daisies / Scarlet Rebels / Dan Byrne

Venue: Holmfirth, The Picturedrome

Date: 21 August 2025

"If you’re a fan of Hard Rock, then seeing The Dead Daisies live is a must. If you don’t like The Dead Daisies, then you aren’t a fan of Hard Rock."

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The last time The Dead Daisies played The Picturedrome I made the mistake of not purchasing my ticket early enough. I was not about to make the same mistake twice, especially with two impressive support bands added to the bill. It was a wise decision as once again it was sellout at the venue in the picturesque market town in West Yorkshire.

Dan Byrne, erstwhile singer of Revival Black and lead vocalist with Marty And The Bad Punch, took to the stage with a huge smile and to a great reception from a large crowd. Although not bad, the sound was not its usually high standard at The Picturedrome, particularly the drums, but Byrne’s vocals were fortunately right on point. The friendly Liverpudlian was obviously stoked that so many people had turned out early doors. Along with his band, Max Rhead on drums, Colin Parkinson on bass, and Glenn Quinn on guitar, Byrne tore through a seven-song set including new track ‘Saviour’; however, it was the final two songs that received the greatest reception, Planet Rock playlist favourites: ‘Like Animals’ and ‘Death Of Me’. A great start to the evening’s proceedings.

Setlist (contains spoilers)

Hard To Breathe / Hate Me / Pull Me Under / Saviour / Cherry & Leather / Like Animals / Death Of Me


I was eager to see Scarlet Rebels again having reviewed their headline show three years ago at Nightrain in Bradford. At the time they were promoting their ‘See Through Blue’ opus, but since then, they’ve gone on to release the Top Twenty album (#1 in the Rock Charts), the excellent ‘Where The Colours Meet’. They hit the stage to the theme tune to the seventies/eighties TV series ‘Happy Days’. Again, the sound wasn’t brilliant and lead singer guitarist Wayne Doyle seemed to be frustrated at the end of opening number ‘Secret Drug’ and especially after second song ‘Streets Of Fire’, where his usually great vocals sounded a bit strained. It transpired that the in-ear monitors had been transposed. With the latter corrected, Doyle along with Chris Jones (lead guitar), Wayne “Pricey” Esmonde (bass), and Gary Doyle (drums) immediately shifted into top gear for a superb rendition of ‘Grace’ (my personal favourite Rebels’ song). The amiable frontman was another one appreciative of the large audience, plus playing the venue for the very first time. He endeared himself to the crowd by saying he had Yorkshire connections via his Dad but amusingly lost the latter when he said he was from Leeds, followed by a chorus of friendly boos, indicating there were lots of fans in from Manchester and Sheffield to name but two locations. ‘It Was Beautiful’ and ‘Let Me In’ had the Holmfirth Collective singing along as if the band were headlining. A very tasty couple of entrees with the main course still to follow.

Setlist (contains spoilers)

Secret Drug / Streets Of Fire / Grace / It Was Beautiful / Let Me In

The intro-tape of Led Zeppelin’s ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll’ signalled the entrance of The Dead Daisies to the stage. As friend and Fireworks’ Editor, Dave Cockett, stated on his Facebook page, “As soon as they kicked in with ‘Long Way To Go’, you just knew they were gonna blow the roof off.” And that’s exactly what they did with a barnstorming hour-and-forty-five-minute set of high-octane Rock ‘n’ Roll. The early impetus was maintained with ‘Rise Up’ , ‘Dead And Gone’ ‘Last Time I Saw The Sun’, ‘Light ‘Em Up’ and ‘Bustle And Flow’, the latter being the only song from the Glenn Hughes’ era of the band. Fortunately, the Tommy Clufetos (Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osborne) extended drum solo didn’t kill the momentum as expected, and looking around, the majority of the audience seemed to enjoy. Who am I to argue, I wouldn’t want to meet Clufetos down a dark alley! The sound was immense, including Clufetos’ drums, which he relentlessly bashed into submission throughout the whole evening. I noticed he’s got an exaggerated lift on his left arm, which generates even more power as he hits the drums.

The crowd finally got to catch the breath with the well-placed acoustic version of ‘Love That Will Never Be’ by lead singer John Corabi. They soon hit full throttle again with ‘I Wanna Be Your Bitch’, ‘I’m Gonna Ride’ and the first cover of the evening ‘Take A Long Ride’ (original by The Angels).

I do love the way they do their band introductions, presenting each member along with an extract of a classic song. First up was founding member and rhythm guitarist David Lowy, who was a lot more front and centre than I’ve seen him on previous tours. Most self-made millionaires just want to earn even more money and become rich and powerful, but Australian Lowy had the dream of creating his own Rock band. Cynics may say that The Dead Daisies are just a band of mercenaries; however, after thirteen years and nine studio albums, they are a certified Hard Rock band with an ever-increasing fan base. Lowy’s intro song was AC/DC’s ‘Highway To Hell’, which the Holmfirth Collective took no encouragement singing the roof off. Rhythm section of Clufetos and ex-Whitesnake bassist Michael Devin were heralded with The White Stripes’ ‘Seven Nation Army’ and Black Sabbath’s ‘Heaven And Hell’ respectively. My biggest smile of the night was seeing how fit and well guitarist Doug Aldrich (Burning Rain, Whitesnake, Lion) looked after his cancer scare. Aldrich was the very first musician I interviewed for Fireworks, and he looked to be having a blast; he always plays with a smile on his face, but it seemed wider than ever this evening as he blasted through Zeppelin’s ‘Whole Lotta Love’. That just left returning vocalist Corabi introduced by Lowy in his broad Aussie accent. Now, he might not be the best singer to front the band (Glenn Hughes being the previous singer); however, I think most would agree he’s definitely the best fit for the band and their sound. I don’t think I’ve heard him sounding better and he continues to morph into Steven Tyler’s younger brother! His song was Judas Priest’s ‘Living After Midnight’.

This year the band have released a Blues album ‘Lookin’ For Trouble’, which they played the Lead Belly cover ‘Black Betty’ (made popular in the seventies by Ram Jam) and Don Nixon cover ‘Going Down’. If you ever wanted to know how indelibly Blues and Hard Rock are linked, then just give this record a listen. Three more covers followed: The Creedence Clearwater Revival classic ‘Fortunate Son’, which the Daisies have been playing for years; ‘Get A Haircut’ by George Thorogood & the Destroyers, with Lowy on lead vocals as Corabi jokingly said he was the only one in the band ever to have a real job; and my personal favourite ‘Midnight Moses’ by The Sensational Alex Harvey Band. I think Harvey would be looking down with approval. The main set was brought to a rip-roaring climax with ‘Mexico’.

The band left the stage for a couple of minutes before returning for a deserved two-song encore, starting with of the crunching ‘Resurrected’ from 2018’s ‘Burn It Down’ opus. That just left a cover of The Beatles’ heaviest track, ‘Helter Skelter’, including a snippet of Zeppelin’s ‘Nobody’s Fault But Mine’, to bring both the evening and the current tour to a fitting finale.

If you’re a fan of Hard Rock, then seeing The Dead Daisies live is a must. If you don’t like The Dead Daisies, then you aren’t a fan of Hard Rock.

Setlist (contains spoilers)

Long Way To Go / Rise Up / Dead And Gone / Last Time I Saw The Sun / Light ‘Em Up / Bustle And Flow / Drum Solo / Love That Will Never Be / I Wanna Be Your Bitch / I’m Gonna Ride / Take A Long Ride / Medley: Highway To Hell-Seven Nation Army-Heaven And Hell-Whole Lotta Love-Living After Midnight / Black Betty / Going Down / Fortunate Son / Get A Haircut / Mexico / Midnight Moses

Encore: Resurrected / Helter Skelter

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Review: Mark Donnelly

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